SAN DIEGO (Interstat) — Two pivotal defensive plays and a collection of clutch pitching performances allowed the Milwaukee Brewers to escape a late-inning jam and salvage the finale of a three-game series with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday afternoon at PETCO Park.

The NL Central champion Brewers (96-63) avoided a sweep and reduced their magic number to one over the Philadelphia Phillies for clinching the best record in the majors and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The playoff-bound Padres fell to 87-72.

The game turned on two moments where a Padres rally was snuffed out. In the first inning, Milwaukee center fielder Jackson Chourio leaped at the wall to rob Xander Bogaerts of a three-run home run, keeping the game scoreless.

“That set the tone for the whole game,“ a Brewers team official said of Chourio’s catch.

The most dramatic sequence came in the seventh. After the Brewers had taken a 2-1 lead in the top of the inning, the Padres loaded the bases with one out against reliever Nick Mears. Mears struck out Freddy Fermin before getting Luis Arraez to fly out to Chourio in center field to end the threat.

Milwaukee’s offense was methodical, scoring single runs in the fifth, seventh, and ninth innings while racking up 10 hits. The Brewers broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when Andrew Vaughn doubled to left field to plate Brice Turang.

San Diego answered in the sixth on a solo home run by Jackson Merrill, his 16th of the season, to tie the game at 1-1.

The Brewers reclaimed the lead for good in the seventh. After a double play nearly ended the inning, Chourio kept the frame alive with a single. Turang then delivered his second hit of the game, a sharp line drive to center that scored Chourio with the go-ahead run.

Danny Jansen provided an insurance run in the ninth with a solo home run, his 13th of the year.

The win was a product of a bullpen game for Milwaukee, with six pitchers combining to hold the Padres to one run on six hits. Chad Patrick started with three scoreless innings, striking out six. Erick Fedde allowed the lone run on Merrill’s homer over 2 2/3 innings.

Aaron Ashby (5-2) was credited with the win after recording the final out of the seventh inning. Jared Koenig navigated a scoreless eighth, and Abner Uribe struck out two in a perfect ninth to earn his sixth save.

Padres starter Dylan Cease was sharp, allowing one run on six hits over five innings while striking out eight. Adrian Morejon (13-6) took the loss after surrendering the decisive run in the seventh.

The game, played in 2 hours, 50 minutes, was a pitchers’ duel that defied pregame expectations. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a high-scoring 7-6 final, and the total of four runs went well under the over/under line of 8. Despite the simulation favoring Milwaukee with a 54.7% win probability, San Diego had been installed as a 1.5-run favorite on the betting line.

Attendance was 41,462.

The Brewers now return home to close the regular season with a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds beginning Friday. The Padres will remain at PETCO Park to host the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game set starting the same day.